Quality Magazine

Quality's 20th Annual Spending Survey: Let the Software Spending Begin

January 8, 2020

Once the gift-giving ends, it’s time for the quality equipment spending to take off. January is typically when quality professionals start filling their quality wish list.

Ten Elements of Effective Document Control

The document control system is a hub for the information that drives your quality system.

Glen Fraser

January 1, 2020

5 Comments

Document control is the cornerstone of quality, compliance, environmental health and safety (EHS) and process excellence. Quality process information, work instructions, job descriptions, and specifications must all be created, revised, distributed, tracked and “retired” with consistency and efficiency.

Trends in Automotive Inspection

Intelligent factories, electric vehicles and traceability are just some of the factors that are influencing change in automotive part inspection, say experts in the field.

Genevieve Diesing

January 15, 2020

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Although automotive parts suppliers use a variety of testing equipment to conduct a wide range of tests and inspections—and within specific tolerances, which warrant highly precise tools and processes—original equipment manufacturers have refined these inspection practices over the course of decades.

Why Flexible Gaging?

The top reasons to give it a try.

Joe Soistman

January 15, 2020

2 Comments

Need convincing? Here’s a quick overview of some of the reasons why flexible gaging is a good choice.

Analyzing Unexpected Structural Defects in Electronic Components

Anomalies may lie outside the scope of the established imaging parameters.

Tom Adams

January 8, 2020

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An electronic component on its way to being installed in a system has, it is hoped, no cracks, voids or other internal structural defects that may cause an electrical failure in service.

An example of peel testing with manual grips

The Devil is in the Details: Choosing a Proper Grip for Tensile Testing

Tensile strength is an important parameter of engineering materials that are used in structures and mechanical devices.

Tracey Cheesman

January 1, 2020

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What is tension? The application of tension involves stretching or pulling a piece of material. Tensile tests are conducted to help specify materials for engineering applications.

With CMM automation, look at the whole value stream.

Improving Your Manufacturing Productivity and Quality with CMM Networking and Automation

Consider automating and moving your CMMs to the shop floor.

Zeiss

January 1, 2020

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The quality lab is a critical component to manufacturing companies, especially when preparing parts for production, routine inspection and also product development.

The Past is Here

Before you leap forward into another eventful year, let's look back.

January 8, 2020

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The holiday season is over. You made it! You can take a breath. You are ready for the hustle and bustle of 2020. There will be new projects, challenges, and successes.

Automobiles and Automation

From the wheel and horse to the push of a button.

Darryl Seland

January 15, 2020

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It all started with the wheel. Moving things, and ourselves, across distances became easier and more efficient with the wheel. Over the centuries, we progressed from carts we pushed ourselves to wagons pulled by animals we domesticated and trained.

Picture This: Poor Visual Controls Can Do More Harm than Good

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Ian R Lazarus

January 6, 2020

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I hopped into my rental car in Fort Lauderdale, impressed with how much the whole process of renting a vehicle has improved from the days when it felt like you were signing your life away for a few days of local transportation.

Whose Acceptance Limits?

Part 1 of 2: Learn more about these boundaries of precision.

Hill Cox

January 1, 2020

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More companies than ever are downloading decisions to calibration laboratories causing perfectly acceptable gages and instruments to be ‘failed’ by them. How could such a thing happen?

The Value of Membership

Maximize the value you receive for your membership dollars.

Jim Spichiger

January 8, 2020

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As a Master Black Belt I teach Lean Six Sigma courses and often provide definitions of common terms. One such term is “value” which I define as the ratio between quality and price (value = quality/price).

Quality Responsibility

Just who is responsible for quality?

Jim L. Smith

January 1, 2020

One Comment

When the subject of quality is discussed it’s a safe bet that many would suggest it needs to improve. Additionally, many consider that senior management is most responsible for that improvement.

A Quality Assurance Toolset for Modern Manufacturers

Before you can fully utilize machine vision, you need to understand the basics.

Ron Pulicari

January 8, 2020

3 Comments

The official definition of “machine vision” encompasses all industrial and nonindustrial applications in which a combination of hardware and software provide operational guidance to devices in the execution of their functions based on the capture and processing of images. In short, machine vision helps companies manufacture quality goods, repeatably.

Design Considerations for New High Resolution and Frame Rate CMOS Sensors

Sensors will continue to evolve, and camera lenses will continue evolving right along with them.

Nicholas Sischka

January 1, 2020

2 Comments

Lens and camera sensor technology tends to co-evolve. As cameras drive to smaller and smaller pixel sizes with growing formats, lenses need to be designed to match those higher capabilities.

Using “Just Noticeable Difference” to Automate Visual Inspection of Displays According to Human Visual Perception

Visual display testing is rapidly being automated using systems that are capable of objectively quantifying visual qualities like brightness, color, and contrast of displays.

Shaina Warner

January 8, 2020

2 Comments

Human perception is the ultimate standard for determining the visual quality of a device. However, the use of human inspection as a quality control method for development or production of devices is problematic because of the statistical variation between observers.

Shape from Shading: A Vital Shape Extraction Technology and its Applications

Vision inspection is not without its challenges.

Steve Zhu

January 1, 2020

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In today’s manufacturing environment, automatic vision inspection has been widely applied in many different industries including semiconductor, electronics, food and beverage, pharmaceutical packaging, automotive, and many others.

Applying the CoaXPress Interface in Multi-Camera Machine Vision Systems

Multiple camera systems have been a fixture in machine vision for decades. What is new is the use of CXP.

Donal Waide

January 1, 2020

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Understandably, designers of high-throughput, multi-camera machine vision systems have grown dissatisfied with those aging standards and have found a new champion, CoaXPress (CXP), a high-speed, point-to-point, serial communications interface that runs data over off-the-shelf 75Ω coaxial cables.

Teledyne DALSA Xtium2 Frame Grabber Series

January 15, 2020

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Teledyne DALSA announced its Xtium™2-CXP series of high-performance frame grabbers. The new series transfers image data to the host memory at maximum acquisition rates with zero CPU utilization, allowing host applications to operate at maximum efficiency.

IDS USB3 Vision Cameras

January 15, 2020

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IDS Imaging Development Systems GmbH is expanding its USB3 Vision camera range by more than 100 models in the coming weeks. The company integrates the entire range of Sony sensors in several camera families, which it currently already offers with a GigE Vision interface.

JAI Microscopy Cameras

January 15, 2020

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JAI announced the availability of four new 3-CMOS prism color cameras designed for use in microscopy-based systems where maximum control of dust, lint, and other foreign object debris particles (FODs) in the optical path is critical.

Allied Vision Prosilica GT Cameras

January 15, 2020

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With three new models incorporating the latest 2nd Generation Sony IMX sensors the camera manufacturer Allied Vision expands its robust high-resolution camera family Prosilica GT for demanding applications.

Custom quartz glass lenses from Laser Components.

Laser Components Custom Quartz Glass Lenses

January 15, 2020

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Laser Components USA manufactures high-quality custom quartz glass lenses within a very short time. At the production site in Olching, Germany, substrates with diameters from 0.5 to 2 inches can be shaped into plano-convex, plano-concave, biconvex, biconcave, and meniscus lenses with radii of curvature from 12 mm to 15,000 mm.